Delhi court takes cognisance of chargesheet in Swiss woman's murder case

New Delhi: A court here on Monday took cognisance of the Delhi Police’s charge sheet against the man accused of killing Swiss national Nina Berger, whose decomposed body tied with locked metal chains was found in West Delhi's Tilak Nagar on October 20, 2023.

Metropolitan Magistrate Devanshu Sajlan took cognisance of the 1000-page chargesheet filed against Gurpreet Singh, 33, under various penal provisions, including those related to murder, and committed the case to a sessions court.

Singh, a resident of Janakpuri, was arrested a day after Berger's body was discovered. He is a school dropout and the sole accused in the case.

The city police had filed the chargesheet against Singh on January 11.

Since serious offences like murder are triable by a sessions court, the magistrate took cognisance of the chargesheet and committed the case to a superior court.

The magistrate directed that Singh be produced before the Principal District and Sessions Judge of Tis Hazari district courts on January 30.

The Delhi Police have charged Singh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 404 (dishonest misappropriation of property possessed by deceased person at the time of death), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 482 (punishment for using a false property mark).

According to the chargesheet, Singh, a businessman dealing in precious stones and gems, murdered Berger, 30, following a financial dispute.

Singh, during his visit to Switzerland, allegedly offered Berger some gemstones and performed occult practices while promising to rid her of her professional problems. He then started demanding money from her which led to a dispute, according to the chargesheet.

Singh later invited Berger to India and killed her.